Replay
by SnowKiter
Summary: In which Amaterasu cheats in her first fight against Waka. Or is it her first fight? Maybe not.


_A/N: So Okami's an awesome game and I haven't written in a looooong while. So why not practice with a random one-shot?_

_This is Waka and Amaterasu's first meeting...or is it? Are you confused when you read it? Great! _

_Okami, I do not own. _

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><p><strong><em>Replay<em>**

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><p>Even the tree he stood on was unchanged. The same sky, the same crimson sun, the same little pond, glistening like a mirror, from before. How long had it been? It had just seemed like yesterday. He closed his eyes, listening to the wind and humming contentedly. She would be here soon.<p>

Waka leaned against the cool bark, scanning the restored Agata Forest. The waterfall ran with the same ecstatic gurgle, and the petals of the flowering Guardian Sapling drifted across the sky like dust motes under a sunny windowsill. Sunlight shunted through tree branches that rattled in the breeze as if they were stretching after a long period of cramped stillness.

The beauty awakened a deep gladness within him—not the same burning, almost frantic anticipation that had coiled in his belly like a snake the first time. No, everything was at a more easygoing pace now.

He heard it then: soft padding footsteps that rustled through the undergrowth. The trees sighed in contentment as their goddess passed through.

Waka smiled, straightened, and raised his flute to his lips. The footsteps halted as the sweet melody meandered between the trees, singing of past adventures that reflected the present, and the promise of a glorious future. The wind laughed and echoed the song.

Below him, the white wolf had closed her eyes as well, savoring the nostalgic music. Was she thinking of their adventures, past, present, and future, too?

Waka would have liked to play for a bit longer, but he had drawn it out long enough. He lowered the instrument and declared brazenly to the trees, "Hark! The call of the heavens, the earth, the sea…They summon me forth of defeat evil!"

He peered down to see how he was doing. She had changed—Amaterasu now wore a more silvery form and the red markings on her fur were less discernable. Her eyes, unlike before, glittered with recognition and amusement. The knowledge that she _knew_ him this time brought joyful warmth that had little to do with the sunshine.

She was waiting for him to finish his speech. So he did.

"Waka, the gods' gift to man, is here! _Bonjour_!"

The wolf wagged her tail as the green-glowing Poncle bouncing on her head took his cue to complain, "What's up with this guy?" He said it like after all this time, he still didn't know the answer to an obvious question.

Waka twirled his flute and cheekily waved at Issun who was most likely glaring back. The little bouncing Poncle was muttering to himself and Waka's sharp ears managed to catch some of it: "I'd hoped that _he_ at least wouldn't appear again…make our lives a mess…could've gone without him this time…would have been perfectly happy…half-baked prophet!"

Resisting the impulse to burst out laughing, Waka turned back to Amaterasu.

"That crimson shading and Divine Instrument on your back… you look a little funny, but I reckon you pack a punch, baby." Waka winked at the wolf-turned sun goddess and waited for Issun's tirade.

It came, even more swiftly and vehemently than the first time if that was even possible. "Hey, you think you're so special way up there, huh? Get down here and talk face to—" He broke off like he was supposed to and glumly added, "Wait did he just say crimson shading and Divine Instrument? Can he see your true form?"

Of course he could. All of them knew that. Waka waited a moment before making the leap off of the tree, floating through the flower petal-filled air, and touching down lightly on the water's surface. The air glittered as water droplets were thrown up, catching the kiss of the sun. Issun snorted at the theatrical move and continued muttering about how Waka should not be included the second time around.

The prophet twirled his flute again and drew Pillow Talk. He didn't get very impressed looks, but Issun obligingly stated the obvious: "He drew a sword!"

"_Oui_, this is how I get my point across, pun intended." Waka loved that line. "The moment the cursed zone started spreading across Nippon, I saw the shadowy figure that removed the sacred sword Tsukiyomi flee to Kamiki Village and seal the entrance with a huge rock. You guys know anything about that?"

He jabbed Pillow Talk at them and was awarded with bored, blasé stares. Well of course they knew _now_, but he still had to say it, didn't he?

Amaterasu was already in a battle crouch, her tail wagging enthusiastically. She pawed the ground, a friendly challenge glinting in her eyes.

"Ammy, are you getting worked up again?" Issun sounded almost savage, like he was relishing the impending fight.

Playful anticipation of his own swelled up within Waka, a swell of eagerness. This wouldn't be a battle with a washed-up old wolf. Minus the Divine Instruments, Amaterasu would practically be at her full strength.

"_Magnifique_! I would have it no other way, Amaterasu. Now you will get an earful of my beloved sword, Pillow Talk!"

Even though she must have been prepared, the wolf's stance almost broke as she started to snicker. Issun snorted loudly. Waka drew his other katana with an air of mock hurt. Why did they persist in finding his sword's name to be funny?

Waka spun his katana and performed a complex maneuver that absolutely failed to impress them, for they had already seen it. In hindsight, he should have thought up of another one. Too late now.

He pointed Pillow Talk at them and grinned. "Let's rock, baby!"

Amaterasu pounced, moving like a white-fletched arrow. The Rosaries pulsing at her neck glowed like cooked egg yolks—egg yolks whose impact hurt a lot.

Waka would have liked to say he gave the sun goddess a huge challenge like the first time, but in reality it was an utterly one-sided fight, and totally unfair.

"That's a dirty trick, _ma chérie_," Waka gasped as his blade bounced off of Amaterasu's fur harmlessly. She wielded the String of Beads, a Holy Artifact that made her completely immune to damage. It also increased her attack and gave her limitless Ink to attack him with. It was something that he had helped construct, even, and now it was being used to utterly pound him to dust.

Now where on earth had she managed to get her paws on that?

"Hit 'im again, Ammy!" Issun cheered from his position atop the goddess's head.

Waka stepped back to avoid the golden whiplash of the Rosaries and hurled his katana, hoping that she wouldn't see it. Unfortunately she did—time seemed to slow for a split second and before he knew it, she had used Power Slash to send the katana violently spinning right back at his face.

With a muffled _"oof_", Waka landed onto his back, winded and stunned. The sky spun like a watery disk above him and sleepy wooziness rushed through him like he'd just drunken a keg of sake. The first time they fought, he had feigned half of his dizziness and left a half-dozen openings for Amaterasu to take advantage of, but he wasn't dealing with an inexperienced opponent now. It didn't help that she packed a ton of raw power to whack him with.

He was glad he was wearing a helmet.

Completely unfair, he thought, as she took the opportunity to Power Slash him again. Waka yelped and his vision focused, his battle-trained mind snapping into an alert mode, but he didn't bother getting up this time. He lifted his head in a feeble manner and clutched his chest dramatically.

"You are terrible," he told the wolf who was grinning at him and waving that accursed item of invulnerability around.

"That's what you get for all of your stupid prophecies that led us around the nose the first time, you two-bit fruitcake!" Issun shouted triumphantly.

"Oh how you wound me."

Amaterasu loped over and nosed his shoulder, her tail wagging. Her eyes were warm spots of ink that glistened with joy. Waka laughed and patted her on the head affectionately, before sitting up and playfully swiping his blade at her.

"Well if you want to dance that badly, _ma chérie__, _I shall oblige."

He rolled to his feet and attacked again. The wolf continued to launch String of Beads-powered Rosary attacks at him, but Waka dodged in between the whips of light and stepped in close, forcing Amaterasu to use her less reliable Reflector. Her timing with it was much improved, but it was less efficient against an opponent like him.

The dance was glorious. Their first fight had been nothing less than Waka playing around and Amaterasu flailing with increased frustration. Sure that was fun, but it was nothing like a _dance_ like this. The familiar heat of battle surged through him, filling him with an inexplicable joy that bloomed in his sword. They spun like a pair of swift hawks, wheeling against each other in the windy azure sky. All around them, the petals of the Guardian Sapling bore witness and spun with their rhythm.

Waka spun away and pranced over the sparkling water's surface, enjoying the irritable bark that his opponent launched at him. He had managed to stun and knock her back several times even though the String of Beads completely neglected any damage. Amaterasu circled him warily as Waka attacked again, hurling his full strength against the wolf. They would see the true power of—

"Uwah!"

"Ha!" Issun crowed. "Take _that_!"

Waka picked himself up again with an air of dignity. He grinned breathlessly as he brushed himself off. "Not bad,_ ma chérie__."_

"_Not bad? _Ammy just _destroyed_ you and all you have to say is _not bad?_"

Waka sheathed his katana, utterly ignoring the Poncle. He met Amaterasu's eyes, old and wise and pleased at their reunion. Her tail wagged and she tilted her head at Pillow Talk which had reverted to its flute form. She looked as though she wished for him to play for her, just like he did on the Celestial Plain.

Waka smiled and shook his head gently. _Now's not the time, _ma chérie.

He stretched and to his mild surprise, found his arm was slightly sore from the spar. He chuckled to himself and then straightened. It was back to business, back to moving forward with their destiny. "By the way, I have a prophecy for you."

Issun hopped up and down with horror his tiny arms waving in protest. "Oh no, not this again—we already know so can you not do it? Please?"

The vision was a bit stale after all of this time, but Waka still recalled the words perfectly. He accompanied the prophecy with histrionic hand gestures. "I foresee a log and big thrills!"

"Bah!"

"You'll know what I'm talking about when the time comes!"

Amaterasu snorted and shook her fur out, the String of Beads jingling irately.

"Oh just wait till he does the tango one," Issun said furiously. "Bite him when he does, okay, Ammy?"

"Anyway, I must be off. The work of a prophet is never done. _Au revior_, baby!" With that, Waka saluted them and leapt off into the trees, riding the wind like a great sky-lit path. He tossed a look over his shoulder and found Issun shouting insults after him like usual. Amaterasu wagged her tail and leapt up, pawing the air happily.

Waka smiled and turned back around. There was no need to look back. Their resolve had already carried them through and light had been returned to the world. With that String of Beads, Amaterasu would definitely have an easier time with her quest.

He glided through the trees, closing his eyes as the nostalgic wind caressed the golden hair hidden under his headdress.

"Until next time, _ma chérie_," he said to the heavens. The sun smiled back and promised a day when they could go sailing right past it.

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><p><em>Owari<em>

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><p><em>AN: So ya. I was just going on about what it would be like to replay Okami in New Game+, the feature you unlock when you beat the game for the first time. If you replay the game in New Game+ you get a bunch of things you didn't have the first time around, besides experience and knowledge of the game. The String of Beads is something you get if you've collected all 100 Stray Beads in your first playthrough and yes, it indeed gives you immunity to damage and all that. You also get Karmic Transformations and get to keep your stats and stuff. No wonder Waka got beat up. xD_

_Oh well. I still love him. Thanks for reading and have a nice day~!_


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